arapahoe basin

The season isn't over yet. Several resorts are staying open late into the spring while others offer end-of-season deals.

Temps are rising as summer approaches but many skiers aren’t ready to store their boards yet. Well, you don’t have to. Winter is playing an encore, pounding the western states with fresh powder while several resorts in the Rockies and out East are still powering lifts. Many resorts close this Sunday, April 15 but some are offering discounted or even free lift tickets on their last day. Here’s a list of late season deals and resorts that plan to stay open even later into the spring.

A 63-year-old ski bum with 34 years' experience sleeping in his VW Beetle at resort bases around the West might not make it onto the slopes this winter. According to the Denver Post, Charlie Toups, "Colorado's ultimate ski bum and a relic of a fading era," has been locked in a Georgetown jail for nearly two months, after unpaid tickets for camping on public lands led to his arrest--while skiing.

Is this the start of a banner year or what? Colorado's Arapahoe Basin opened last week, earlier than it ever has, and Loveland had its earliest season opening in 40 years. Even Las Vegas's local hill opened a full seven weeks ahead of schedule.

Are you ready for ski season? You'd better be: It's here. Boasting its earliest opening day in 40 years, Colorado’s Loveland Ski Area opened this morning, becoming the first ski resort in North America to do so for the 2009-10 season. How about skiing at Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort? Bet on it. Less than an hour from the Vegas strip, Las Vegas resort opened beginner terrain this morning, a full seven weeks before its targeted opening day.

Let's say you bought a season pass, but you lost your job before the season even started. Are you screwed? Not if you opted for Vail Resorts' Pass Insurance program. For an extra $20 for adult, teen or senior passes (or $10 for children's passes), you'd be able to recover at least some, if not all, of your investment. Break a leg before the season even starts? Full refund. Get pregnant after opening day? Partial refund. Called up for duty two weeks after opening day? Partial refund.

The race is on, folks. Colorado's Arapahoe Basin, one of the hardcore havens of the high country, turns on its snowguns tonight -- though they've already been blessed with a starter layer this week courtesy of Mother Nature.

Last winter, the disappearance of several pets in Breckenridge, Colo., was blamed on a local pack of coyotes. But this week biologists with the Colorado Division of Wildlife are saying that recent sightings of coyotes down the hill in Frisco -- which sits within short driving distance to Breck, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin -- shouldn't worry locals.